Multi-stage dry vacuum pump for high vacuum applications

ABSTRACT

This present invention provides for an improved and updated design of Nikola Tesla&#39;s High Vacuum Pump design adapted from his fluid propulsion Patent U.S. Pat. No. 1,061,142, May 6, 1913 and Turbine Patent U.S. Pat. No. 1,061,206, May 6, 1913, to be used specifically for the Semiconductor, Aerospace, Automotive, Healthcare &amp; Pharmaceutical, and Food Preparation, Industries. The new design incorporates the same basic principles as Tesla&#39;s however there are many improvements as to airflow design through the pumping chambers coupled with the use of new and better materials, better metals as well as some composites, along with coatings such as Teflon etc to minimize internal corrosion on the exposed surfaces due to varied processes within these industries some of which are highly corrosive. The new improvements also include variable speed motor controls allowing integrated systems to control the speed and relative pressures of the pumps performance. Varied number of stages can be incorporated as to the required base pressure needed for different applications.

REFERENCES CITED

U.S. Patent Documents 1531607 March 1925 Green 418/9 4828467 May 1989Brown 418/270 5356275 October 1994 Brenner, et al 418/9 6123526September 2000 Chen et al 418/9 4218176 August 1980 Gawne 415/90 6135708October 2000 Conrad et al 415/90 6174127 January 2001 Conrad et al415/1, 415/90 6183641 February 2001 Conrad et al 210/512.3, 55/345, 55/403, 55/406,  55/45901, 209/12.1, 209/715, 209/725, 210/304,210/360.1, 210/380.1 415/90 6224325 May 2001 Conrad et al 415/90,415/914 6238177 May 2001 Conrad et al 415/1, 415/90, 416/198R 6261052July 2001 Conrad et al 415/90 6328527 December 2001 Conrad et al 415/90,416/175 6682077 January 2004 Letourneau 277/412, 277/409, 277/411277/418, 277/420, 277/421 6692232 February 2004 Letourneau 416/198R,415/90, 416/198A, 416/231B, 416/231R Foreign Patent Documents 0 135 257March 1985 EP. 2 088 957 June 1982 GB 3051515 March 2000 JP.

DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a horizontal cross section of a pump and adapted to beoperated in accordance with my invention.

In this drawing the device contains runners/rotors (FIG. 3) composed ofseveral flat rigid disks of a suitable diameter, each disk being open inthe center and held in position by the requisite number and length ofrods/bolts separated by spacers for desired separation to the enddisks/plates which are spoked and held in position on the drive shaft bythe use of keyways and keys and secured using requisite set screws, thelength of these runners/rotors can be changed to the most efficientlength depending on the number of stages as required to achieve theultimate desired base pressure, as illustrated in (FIG. 1). Therunners/rotors are operated in a stage housing (FIG. 3), which areattached to either stage transition plates or the exhaust or intakeplates (FIG. 1). The drive shaft has bearings at each stage transitionplate as well as at the exhaust and intake plates, and is connected tothe drive motor using an appropriate coupling. The end plate designsvary based on either input or exhaust (FIG. 1). The Stage transitionplates (FIG. 3) are designed to be universal as to accommodate assemblyof pumps with as many stages as desired depending on a predeterminedoperating vacuum level. The motor is attached to one of the end platesby the use of a cushioned motor coupling and held to the pump using aspecial flange containing an opening to allow for proper spacing andadjustment. The motor (FIG. 1) can be run as a stand alone or driven byuse of a frequency converter as to be able to control the speed,performance, and pressure. All or any of the elements of this pump canbe either coated with various things such as Teflon, or manufacturedfrom a variety of materials such as composites or metals dependent uponthe required need for the resistance of corrosion.

OPERATION

An understanding of the principle embodied in this device will be gainedfrom the following description of its mode of operation. Power beingapplied to the shaft and the runner/rotor set in rotation in thedirection of the solid arrow/arrows (FIG. 1), the fluid by reason of itsproperties of adherence and viscosity, upon entering through the inletsor ports and coming in contact with the disks is taken hold of by thesame and subjected to two forces, one acting tangentially in thedirection of rotation, and the other radialy outward. The combinedeffect of these tangential and centrifugal forces is to propel the fluidwith continuously increasing velocity in a spiral path until it reachesthe outlet or exhaust from which it is ejected. This spiral movement,free and undisturbed and essentially dependent on the properties of thefluid, permitting it to adjust itself to natural paths or stream linesand to change its velocity and direction by insensible degrees, ischaracteristic of this method of propulsion and advantageous in itsapplication. While traversing the chamber enclosing the runner/rotor,the particles of the fluid may complete one or more turns, or but a partof one turn. In any given case their path can be closely calculated andgraphically represented, but fairly accurate estimate of turns can beobtained simply by defining the number of revolutions required to renewthe fluid.

Passing through the chamber and multiplying it by the ratio between themean speed of the fluid and that of the disks. The quantity of fluidpropelled in this manner is, other conditions being equal, approximatelyproportionate to the active surface of the runner/rotor and to itseffective speed. For this reason, the performance of such machinesaugments at an exceedingly high rate with the increase of their size andspeed of revolution.

The dimensions of the device as a whole and the spacing of the disks inany given machine will be determined by the conditions and requirementsof each individual project. It may also be stated that the interveningdistances should be greater, the larger the diameter of the disks, thelonger the spiral path of the fluid and the greater its viscosity. Ingeneral the spacing should be such that the entire mass of the fluid,before leaving the runner/rotor, is accelerated to a nearly uniformvelocity, not much below that of the periphery of the disks under normalworking conditions and almost equal to it when the outlet/exhaust isclosed and the particles move in concentric circles.

Another application of this principle and the utilization of machinessuch as above described for the compression or rarefaction of air orgases in general. In such cases it will be found that most of thegeneral considerations obtain in the case of liquids, properlyinterpreted hold true.

SUMMERIZATION

The principles underlying this invention are also applicable for use inthe field of mechanical engineering concerned in the use of fluids asmotive agents, for while in some respects the actions in the latter caseare directly opposite to those met with in the propulsion of fluids, thefundamental laws applicable in the two cases are the same. In otherwords, the operation above described is reversible, for if water or airunder pressure be admitted to the opening the runner/rotor is set inrotation in the direction of the dotted arrow by reason of the peculiarproperties of the fluid which traveling in a spiral path and withcontinuously diminishing velocity, reaches the orifices and throughwhich it is discharged.

The principles of construction and operation described apply in a widevariety of machines of different forms, and are adaptable to a greatvariety of application. I have sought to describe and explain only thegeneral and typical applications of the principles applying to thesespecific industries, which I believe I am the first to realize andemploy.

A machine for propelling or imparting energy to fluids or gases,comprising in combination an enclosed housing, end plates with ports ofinlet and outlet, center plates, and a runner/rotor or runners/rotorsmounted within the casing and composed of spaced disks with planesurfaces having opening adjacent to the axis of rotation.

A rotary pump, comprising in combination a plurality of spaced diskswith plane surfaces mounted on a relatable shaft and provided withopenings adjacent thereto, an outer casing with end and center platesenclosing the said disks, means for admitting a fluid into that portionof the enclosure which contains the shaft and an outlet extendingtangentially from the peripheral portion of said enclosure.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross section view of the pump illustrating how the stagesare assembled including the end that the drive shaft connects to themotor. As shown the rotor assemblies attach to either transition platesor end plates depending on how many stages the pump consists of. Thefluid/gas flow travels through the inlet port through the rotor and thentransferred to the next stage through the transition plate stage bystage until it is expelled out the exhaust. The motor is connected tothe drive shaft by use of a damped coupling.

FIG. 2 is an expanded cross section view of a typical rotor assemblysection showing the end plates containing the labyrinth seals, the disksand spacing between the disks.

FIG. 3 is an expanded cross section view of a single stage showing therotor assembly section contained within the outer housing, the driveshaft and the transition plates.

1. Be it known that Edwin “M” Hayes, a citizen of the United States andresiding in Chandler, Ariz. has adapted the original concepts anddesigns of Nikola Tesla, (Fluid Propulsion Pat. U.S. Pat. No. 1,061,142,May 6, 1913, and Turbine Pat. U.S. Pat. No. 1,061,206, May 6, 1913)along with new and useful improvements directed toward the Vacuumapplications for the Semiconductor, Aerospace, Automotive, FoodPreparation, and Health and Pharmaceutical Industries. The following isa full, clear and exact description of the design, concept, andimprovements directed toward said marketplaces/industries. What is infact being patented is the adaptation of Tesla's original design alongwith new and improved designs and material improvements for the abovementioned applications: In the practical application of mechanicalpower, in this case vacuum power, (based on the use of fluid [and orgasses] as the vehicle of energy). In order to attain the highesteconomy of energy, the changes in the velocity and direction of movementof the fluid should be as gradual as possible. In existing forms wherehigh vacuum equipment in use today industries, more or less suddenchanges, shocks and vibrations are unavoidable. During the operation offluid energy, the devices used to derive or impart energy (such aspistons, paddles, vanes and blades) introduce significant amounts ofdefects and limitations and tends to complicate the cost of productionand maintenance of these existing machines. The object of this inventionis to overcome these deficiencies and to effect the transmission andtransformation of mechanical energy through the agency of fluids in amore perfect manner and by means simpler and more economical than thosepreviously used. This is accomplished by causing the propelling fluid tomove in natural paths or stream lines of least resistance, free from theconstraints of existing devices to the extent that these is a seeminglyinsignificant change in the velocity and direction of fluid movementthereby avoiding the losses due to sudden variations while the fluid isimparting energy. It is common knowledge that among other things, afluid possesses both adhesion and viscosity. A solid body moving througha fluid encounters what is known as “lateral” or “skin resistance,”which is two fold. One typed of resistance comes from the shock of thefluid against the aspirates of the solid substance, and the other comesfrom internal forces opposing molecular separation. As a consequence ofthese principles, a certain amount of fluid is dragged along by themoving body. Conversely, if a solid body is placed in a fluid in motion,for the same reason, it is propelled in the direction of the fluid'smovement. While these effects may be routine in some industries, I amthe first to apply them in a practical and economic manner in theseindustries for the propulsion of fluids. This invention applies to theart of imparting energy to fluids (and gasses), and the following is adetailed description of the nature and principles surrounding thisdevice together with a drawing which illustrates an operative andefficient embodiment of the same.